New York Knicks rookie R.J. Barrett did not play Sunday night against the Brooklyn Nets due to an illness, head coach David Fizdale said prior to the matchup.
The game is the first that Barrett missed this season after appearing in each of the previous 16 games with the Knicks. Barrett is averaging 15.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Fizdale has come under fire this season for the way he has handled the workload for Barrett.
The third overall pick leads all rookies in playing time by two minutes over Ja Morant but Barrett has pushed back on the notion that he is playing too much. The Knicks would like to play Barrett as much as possible in order to allow him to play through his mistakes.
RJ Barrett (illness) will not play in tonight’s game against Brooklyn. Kevin Knox II will start.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) November 24, 2019
After playing the Nets on Sunday, the Knicks have a few days off before playing the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday so Barrett could be back in time to return to the court.
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